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Although Idol producers apparently didn't want to dish out the extra 10 mil Paula was holding out for, they had no problem awarding that amount to Cowell!

THR reports that Simon is close to finalizing his deal with Idol that will keep him on the air until at least 2011, to the tune of $45 million a year. That's up $9 million from the $36 million a year he was earning previously, which constitutes a raise of what Paula's entire salary would be.

Now we all know Simon's the reason many people tune in, so is it really that surprising now that Paula's gone they've awarded the extra cash to Simon? And is he really worth that much or should Idol have dug a little deeper to keep Paula as happy as they're clearly concerned with keeping Simon?